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“When I feel guilty over my imperfect past, or I am anxious over my unknown future, I do not live in the present. My past was the present. And my future will be the present. The present is simply who I am just the way I am right now and it is precious.”
— From Spencer Johnson’s The Precious Present
Let’s start with Mikaela’s Valedictory Address. Guyer High School awarded 12 Valedictorians. Each was allotted less than a minute: 4 spoke about Past Influences, 4 (including Mikaela) focused on Present Triumphs, and the final 4 pondered Future Endeavors. Here were Mikaela’s thoughts:
“Today… we graduate. This is the present. We are prepared. No longer are we impatiently counting down the days to this moment. Today is the result of early mornings in tutorials, late nights spent studying with friends, tragedies we’ve had to overcome, unexpected relationships that have grown through our time here, and those rehearsals and practices that never seemed to end. These memories are our past and they have molded us into the separate individuals we are today. Even our failures. But don’t fret over your imperfections and shortcomings, learn from them. Don’t fear the unknown and your future, face it. Now is our time to enjoy the accomplishments we have achieved together, celebrate with the people who helped us get where we are, and live in our present moment.”
I couldn’t agree more, Mikaela. We can all heed the message to learn from our shortcomings…and face the future head on!
I also asked Mikaela to share her perspectives on leadership, so she sent me an excerpt from her application to be Drum Major for the Guyer High School Band (she was accepted):
What are some of your greatest personal strengths?
I would consider my greatest personal strengths to be my maturity and dedication. I am a very mature person and am able to keep a level head in stressful situations. This has helped me to be a good leader because I feel like people are more likely to respect and listen to me. I also consider my dedication to be one of my greatest personal strengths. I am very dedicated to school and have maintained all A’s throughout high school in hopes of being Valedictorian when I graduate. I am also dedicated to flute. I practice for hours every week and work hard to learn new music and broaden my musical repertoire. This year, Dr. Mary Karen Clardy asked me to be one of her students and I have dedicated myself to being the best flute player I can possibly be. (Side note: Dr. Clardy is the Regents Professor of Flute at the University of North Texas. She appears as soloist and chamber artist throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Britain, Europe, Asia and South America, with numerous performances for the National Flute Association and the British Flute Society. Renowned as a teacher, she regularly presents master classes at home and abroad, and her students are consistent winners of international and national competitions, holding prestigious orchestral and faculty positions throughout the world.)
I am also very dedicated in Color Guard. I started late and still managed to catch up to the older members because of the hard work I put into my practice. I also want to pursue Drum Corps and this is only possible with a great amount of dedication and hard work. I believe that I will also be extremely dedicated as a drum major. I have already taken the time to learn how to conduct and attend weekly lessons so that I can be at the same level as other drum majors who have conducted longer than me. I believe these strengths will greatly benefit me as a leader in the Guyer Band.
What are some areas in which the organization could improve and how would you improve them?
I believe our organization can improve in terms of our foundation. Whether it be the fundamentals we do on a daily basis or the leadership team as a whole, who make up the foundation of the band. Our leaders last year didn’t all take band very seriously. If our leaders were to appreciate hard work and encourage their sections to do the same, our band program would improve exponentially. And I believe this starts with who is leading the band. The head drum major is the role model for the entire band and this person must be serious, dedicated, and willing to make a difference in the band in order to truly improve the organization.
This last sentence describes Mikaela and her contribution to her band best…
(Pictured here with her parents—my brother Blake and sister-in-law Kristen)
As I told her, Keep Calm & Flute On…
Mikaela Pyle is definitely an Out of This World Leader, who is Shooting for the Stars!